Indonesian President Presents Arowana to Japanese Emperor

Jiji Press

14:21 JST, June 21, 2023

JAKARTA (Jiji Press) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo presented an arowana luxury tropical fish to the Emperor in an event at the Bogor Palace near Jakarta on Monday.

The Emperor and Empress joined the president and his wife in viewing while smiling the super red arowana swimming in a fish tank at the palace.

In Indonesia, arowanas are known as fish that bring luck and wealth.

In 1991, the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita, when they were the Emperor and Empress at that time, provided hirenaga nishikigoi, a breed of carp created through the crossbreeding of Japanese and Indonesian carp, to Indonesia during a visit to the Southeast Asian country. Then Indonesian President Suharto gave an arowana in return.

Meeting with students

The Emperor and Empress visited Darma Persada University in eastern Jakarta on Tuesday to interact with students learning Japanese.

Meeting with 10 students of the university’s department of Japanese language, the Emperor expressed his happiness about the students’ interest in studying Japanese. The Empress showed her hope that they will be a bridge between the two Asian countries.

In the meeting, a fourth-year student explained the origin of a unique Japanese idiom. The Emperor was impressed, saying that the topic is interesting.